Corrupted Stars
by Zurixox
Summary: Many years ago, Rakan and Xayah were destroyed in the fight against Zoe, alongside each other. The pair were then resurrected and turned against their allies - a fact Rakan seems keenly aware of, and a change Xayah seems almost happy about. Blaming the Star Guardians for abandoning her to die, she has taken a bitter, personal stand against them, even as doubts begin to creep in...
1. Before Our Last Breath

_A thousand cuts is only the beginning._

* * *

1.

"Xayah, Ahri, run!" Rakan screams as a dark substance quickly begins to move towards them, the corruption, getting closer and closer to Xayah and Ahri.

Evil, childish laughter fills the air as Ahri and Xayah begin to run, only for Xayah to trip on a stone, Ahri quickly looking back and holding a hand out, screaming Xayahs name.

But it was too late.

Before she could even move, Xayah was being coated with the corruption, screaming as it covered her body like a blanket.

Ahri watches in horror as the substance stops moving towards her, just wrapping around Xayah as she screams in agony. Ahri rushes towards Rakan, tears streaming down her face and Rakan falls to his knees.

"Rakan, Ahri, we need to go, now!" Sarah shouts, the other three members of their team already heading in the opposite direction of the corruption.

Before Ahri can even move to try and grab Rakans arm, he's sprinting towards Xayah and falls to his knees, brining her onto his lap and gently cradling her, not even phased by the corruption that is now slowly covering his body just as it did to Xayah.

Ahri and Sarah scream his name, but all that can be heard is a slight buzzing, and soon after, darkness.

* * *

A/N  
Hi guys! Holy hell I've had so many ideas lately, and this short book is one of them. There will be a few more chapters but probably no more than 10. I hope you guys enjoy! (This chapter is just kinda a teaser/cliff hanger)


	2. The Birth of a Star

_We are seen dancing and thought insane - by those who can't hear the music._

»»————-————-««

2.

To a lot of people, creating life is amazing. Bringing a small being into the world that you made seems like something magical.

Unfortunately, for us, for Vastaya and Vastayashai'rei, it wasn't the same.

With the lack of magic to develop life-forms or make them strong enough to survive their early years, new life was hard to come by.

Many would pray for new life, either so they could start a family or just for the sake of our species. We were slowly dying out, there was no light way to put it.

But, there was always a chance.

A hope that something so precious, so rare could survive. So, when it is made apparent that a Vastayan is gravid, they put their all into enduring the best results of any outcome. They were desperate for hatchlings and newborns, young ones to carry their ancestry into the inevitable future.

So, when my mother found out she was expecting, she and her mate,—my father—did everything in their power to make sure I came out healthy.

Times were harsh when my mother was carrying, the magic was so dull that it would make even the strongest Vastayan choke. I absorbed an abundance of magic from her, causing her already weakened state to grow beyond regenerating, and with that, my birth led to the unfortunate cause of my mother's death.

Vastaya rely on magic. We breathe magic like humans breathe air. It's our life source, our main source of survival. With the disappearance of magic came the disappearance off all Vastaya.

The main cause of our fading magic were humans. They claimed more and more of our land, tearing down trees and other plants that produced magic. They pushed us further and further to the brink of extinction.

So, we fought.

We fought for our freedom, for our land, and for our magic. Those of us who fought were labeled as freedom fighters, the saviors of our extinction. But some of us were old and weak, unable to fight or defend ourselves.

So, we lived in tribes. Bunches of certain species gathered together in a village to survive and rely on each other, sort of like a pack of wolves.

When we grew old enough, we could make a decision. Live and grow strong with your tribe, or risk your life and decide to leave to become a freedom fighter or create their own life away from their tribe. But, no matter where one of us would go if we left, we would always be welcomed back with open arms.

My mother and father were the leaders of our tribe, the strong and fierce birds who never backed down from a fight.

My mother was kind and passionate, but viscous when it came to battle. She was seen as a beautifully elegant freedom fighter, a bird who wouldn't be afraid to get her feathers dirty with anyone who dared to harm the songs around her.

My father had a very tough exterior, but deep down he was a kind man. He was known as fearless and daring, unafraid of any sort of violence and willing to do anything to protect what he cherished.

The beauty and the beast, that's what they were labeled by humans.

Our kind were known as Lhotlan; birdlike creatures, one of the oldest Vastayan tribes in existence. We have deep ties with our ancestral roots and protect our cultural heritage from the ever encroaching human population of the continent, along with a burning passion for music.

We revolved not only around magic, but also the songs around us. It was how we could tell between people, between friends and foes. A Vastayans song is like a humans personality, yet we can tell what they're like far before introductions.

When I was brought into the world, many festivals were held in honor of me and my mother for her sacrifice. No grudges were held, although it was a sad time for our tribe. A pure song who was born within the Lhotlan bloodline was deemed a blessing from the stars, no matter the tragedies that occurred during the process.

As I grew, my father sang the ancient folk-hymns about vastayan heroes, detailing how we created nature and all of the life within it.

Day by day, I became more and more grounded by nature and it's beauty. My song grew stronger, as did my pride and confidence.

But, I also began to notice the slow drain of magic as I grew, the humming in the air slowly fading as the lands seemed to become more dull.

Over time, I watched my tribe fade and felt my magic slowly draining. It was a terrible sight, watching the weak become weaker and the strong grow less and less interested in anything.

Humans would invade us more frequently, trying to obtain our feathers for money. Other tribes began to go into hiding, with some even moving to the hills, far away from humans. But ours never left, we always stayed together regardless of the tragedies happening around us. We were strong, but so were the humans.

One day, I was traveling with my father and some of my kind from another tribe, one a bit North of our village. Out of nowhere, we were ambushed and lost 3 out of 5 of us, leaving only me and my father who quickly lifted me into his arms and ran for our lives.

That day struck something inside of me. Fear, realisation, and determination. That was the day that I made my decision to become a freedom fighter.

From that day forward, I pledged to try and reason with the humans, and set out the very next day. I ventured into villages beyond my secluded tribal home, and learned how little I knew of the outside world. How isolated I had been from the many, many stories of the lands and terrors of the world.

A group of poverty-stricken villagers mobbed me, some of them trying to steal my feathers as priceless trophies. Others were fearful of my strange appearance and summoned the authorities, forcing me to defend myself. My attackers were soon taught the dangers of getting in my way, as I skewered them with my lethal quills.

Dismayed, I returned to my home, only to discover that my tribe, including my father, were missing without a trace. An ancient vastayan temple had been tainted by unnatural shadow magic, disrupting its connection to the spirit realm.

I destroyed the temple in order to dispel the corruption. Almost instantly, magic flowed back into the surrounding lands. It was a beautiful sight, but my tribe was still nowhere to be found.

After years spent flitting in and out of the most fortified strongholds and leaving a trail of bodies in my wake, I became known as "The Violet Raven." I lived alone, focused only on the next mission, and the next step toward freedom for my kind.

But then I met another Lhotlan who would change my life forever.

As I entered the remote mountain town of Vlonqo in search of a stolen vastayan artifact, I was struck by the strange sight of a braying crowd of excitable humans. Onstage before them stood a preening, flamboyant performer, a veritable golden peacock, who sang old vastayan songs for his captivated audience.

As he finished his show with a dazzling array of cheap tricks—as I saw them—the crowd erupted and chanted his name: "Rakan."

He took a theatrical bow. I dismissed him as a buffoon. He was part of the reason our kind were seen as lower than humans, making a fool of himself.

I willed myself to ignore the entertainer, and completed my mission. I made my escape, which I had to admit had become far easier thanks to the buffoon's distraction of Vlonqo's inhabitants.

Despite vowing never to see this "Rakan" again, I couldn't seem to get him off my mind. It was a strange and complicated feeling; there was a lightness to his spirit that I found aggravatingly alluring. It deeply frustrated me.

I didn't need anymore distractions.

As I left town, I was preoccupied by these strange thoughts, leaving me momentarily distracted to an ambush from a group of mercenaries. I had been expecting a fight, so I was glad to get my feathers bloody.

A good brawl seemed the perfect antidote for useless diversions and unwanted feelings.

That was when Rakan made his grand entrance.

I insisted I didn't need the swaggering vastayan's help. Rakan insisted he didn't care—he just didn't want to miss the party. Through the course of the fight, Rakan proved an unorthodox, but surprisingly dauntless and effective, ally.

He leapt and pirouetted through the attackers who couldn't take their eyes off him, providing me ample time to strike them down with my devastating accuracy.

In spite of my protestations, Rakan continued to follow me.

Over time, I grew to welcome his company and—though I was initially loath to admit it—the world didn't feel so broken and lonely.

We became inseparable, with my passion for the vastayan cause infecting the showboating battle-dancer. I had adapted to his free-spirited ways, utilizing the chaos Rakan creates as perfectly timed distractions.

Together, we fight to release Ionia's abundant flow of magic so that the vastaya might thrive once again.

Centuries passed, thanks to our immortality, and we had accomplished things people could only dream of.

We had restored so much magic, and defeated so many threats. We were satisfied with what we had done.

So, we had married. We settled down and officially took comfort in the thriving lands that surround us, and slowly more and more creatures made an appearance.

They were finally consistently reproducing.

It was a beautiful sight, and even with Rakan and I being hundreds of years old, we still stood tall and strong. Nothing could stop us.

But it was one night that changed our lives.

In the start, it was just an ordinary night. Rakan and I exchange a kiss and cuddled up together, him wrapping his wing around me in a secure way.

We slowly dozed off, but something felt odd once we were finally asleep. I could sense that Rakan could feel it too, as our souls were connected.

It was as if we were floating, and I could see Rakan in front of me, looking just as confused as I was. I reached out for him, and he did the same. As our hands touched, a bright light enveloped us.

The world seemed to spin as time seemed to slow. All I could do was stare into the eyes of my mate, as if I looked anywhere else I would be blinded by the light that surrounded us.

"At last, my stars. You have come so far, and it is finally time for you to truly shine." A soft voice sounded around them, ringing through their ears like a sweet lullaby.

The light slowly faded, and soon they were surrounded by darkness.

Slowly, stars began to scatter throughout the darkness, making it feel not so empty.

But what stood out were the 4 stars that shined brightly in front of them.

As Xayah and Rakan stood side by side, tightly holding each others hands, they watched as slowly the stars formed into orbs.

White, Pink, Red, and Yellow.

"Xayah and Rakan, the charmer and the rebel, I have been watching over the both of you for centuries. Your determination, your strength, your love. May I say I am pleased. You two have been brought here to make a decision." The one in the middle, White, said as the other 3 seemed to fade away.

"Firstly, let me introduce myself. I am know as the First Star, creator of the Star Guardians." the white orb says, "The other orbs you saw were my other choices who will fight along side you, if you decide to join us." The First Star says.

There was silence for a few moments. Xayah and Rakan just stared, confused and breathless.

Was this some sort of joke?

Before the First Star can speak again, Xayah steps forward, or more so floats forward, "What the hell are Star Guardians?! That sounds like some stupid bullshit some story teller made up to make a quick coin." Xayah says, anger obvious in her tone.

Once again, there was silence. Rakan stepped forward with Xayah, gripping her hand to try and comfort her as much as possible.

"Perhaps this does sound a bit odd, but I can ensure you that this is all real." The First Star says, "Star Guardians are warriors who are chosen by me to protect the light of the stars." The feminine voice says as stars twinkle around the white orb, "They are destined to burn bright, but collapse as furiously as they shine."

Xayah and Rakan look at each other, absorbing what they had just learned. Collapse as furiously as they shine? What the hell did that mean?

Rakan nodded to Xayah, and they both turn to face the First Star.

"We appreciate the offer, but we have a cause to fight for. We have to ensure that our species doesn't relapse and become close to extinction again." Rakan said smoothly, squeezing Xayahs hand as he does.

A soft hum sounded, the tone of it making it seem as the First Star was thinking.

"How about we make a deal then?" the First Star offers, which instantly catches the attention of Xayah and Rakan, "What if I make sure your species continues to thrive, and in exchange you two become Star Guardians. I see hard tragedies in your close future, and I'm sure neither of you would want something to happen to one or the other." The First Star says tauntingly.

"Is that a threat?!? I will have you kno-" Xayah is cut off by Rakan, "How will we know for sure that we can trust you? You don't put up a very convincing act." Rakan says, not wanting Xayah to lash out.

"I expected this from the two of you. So determined to your cause, yet each having an advantage and disadvantage. Xayah, you many be strong and intimidating, but you don't think things through when someone says something that sets you off." The First Star says, instantly causing Xayah to back down and only offer a glare towards the white orb, "Rakan, you are kind and passionate, always there for Xayah when she gets too carried away and needs someone to pull her back, but that's your weakness. You are willing to do anything for her, even if it means certain death." The First Star finishes, leaving both birds silent and deep in their thoughts.

After a few minutes of silence, both birds look at each other and nod their heads, then look towards the white orb.

"...we'll do it." both of them say at the same time, and with those words said, they are once again enveloped with the bright light from before.

Darkness surrounded them once again as Xayah and Rakan sat floating, Xayah curled up slightly with her eyes closed and Rakan huddled around her, his eyes slowly beginning to open.

He looks at his mate in her sleeping form, her appearance completely different from his Xayah.

She now had pink hair, and her facial features seemed softer than the natural stern face she had. Her feathers were an ombre of a few shades of green and pink/purple.

However, what shocked him most was her outfit. Compared to her usual short dress with a slit on the side, she was wearing a new dress which had ridges at the end and was slightly longer. The dress was all sorts of colors, but for the most part stuck with the same scheme as the rest, a mix of green, white, and pink.

Rakan then noticed a ball of fluff hovering over her shoulder, which he couldn't completely identify yet as it was curled up. What he did notice though, was the bright green gem that floated next to it, waiting to be claimed.

Suddenly, Xayah shifted and slowly opened her eyes, Rakan expecting her usual beautiful yellow eyes, only to be shocked once again by piercing blue orbs that looked back at him.

Once Xayah fully opened her eyes and got a quick look at Rakan, she quickly moved back and stared at him shocked. She questioned what he did with Rakan, only to get an answer of confusion, asking the same to her.

Xayah looked over Rakan, his blond hair with a red streak now a vibrant green, and his feathers which faded from a dark green/blue to a lighter green/blue.

She then looked at his outfit, which unsurprisingly doesn't seem to have changed much aside from the coloration, which was now a mix of colors that looked like a nebula on his knees and the rest of his pants a white.

Slowly Xayah looked back up and into Rakans eyes, his usual blue eyes now a piercing green. Xayah then looked to his shoulder, a green ball of feathers hovering above it, staring at her with curiosity which made Xayah yelp and back away more. She also noticed the bright blue gem that floated next to the feathered ball.

Rakan looks to where she was looking and now notices the green bird-like ball of feathers that is floating on his shoulder, confused, he reaches to pet it, receiving a purr in return which made him chuckle a bit. Rakan then reaches to grab the blue gem, and the second he does it glows brightly, startling him. He stares at it, and slowly it takes the shape of a necklace, which he slowly slides over his head.

Thats when Rakan looks back over to Xayah to see her looking at the same little ball of feathers, besides the color, hovering over her shoulder. Xayah slowly does what Rakan does, only to have it quickly move and nuzzle her chest which made Xayah let out a startled yelp. Xayah ignores the bird for a second and quickly grabs the green gem, it doing the same thing as it did to Rakan but instead of a necklace, a small bracelet formed.

Xayah slides the bracelet on her wrist then looks up at Rakan, confusion shining in both of their eyes as the little birds move back to their shoulders, nuzzling their necks lovingly.

Within seconds, Xayah and Rakan are once again surrounded by light, and before darkness can consume them, a voice rings all around them.

"Welcome to the world, my precious stars."

When Xayah and Rakan awoke once again, they were in a room. Rakan had his arms draped over Xayah, his eyes slowly opening just as Xayahs do.

"It's about time you two wake up!" A feminine voice says from beside them, instantly making the two birds sit up.

They look towards the source of the voice and are met with a blonde female with fox ears.

"W-Where are we? Who are you?" Xayah asks, watching the fox as she moves to take a seat near their bed.

"Well, you're in the Star Guardian house. It's a decently sized house that the First Star created in the forest so we wouldn't be disturbed." the girl says, smiling gently at the both of them, "My name is Ahri, I am the pink star that you saw while speaking with the First Star." Ahri finishes, gesturing towards the pin under her left ear which had a pink gem in the center of it.

Xayah and Rakan nod, relaxing slightly. They could tell she wasn't a threat, but Xayah couldn't hold back the question once she mentioned the stars.

"So if you're the pink star, then who are the red and yellow stars?" Xayah asks.

As if on cue, the door to their room bursts open and two females fall onto the ground, obviously showing that they were eavesdropping.

The one on the floor had long reddish-orange hair, definitely human. However, the one on top of her was definitely Vastayan. She had a long, lizard-like tail with layered hair, the top being an ombré of pink that faded to orange, and the bottom an ombré of a dark blueish-green that faded to a grass green.

Quickly, both females stood up and waved cheekily, a red tinge appearing on their faces as they walk towards Ahri.

"Well, it seems as you two have perfect timing. Green just asked about the both of you." Ahri said, gesturing towards Xayah. That's when she realized she didn't know Rakan and Xayahs names.

"It's Xayah, and this is my mate, Rakan." Xayah says as she points to herself and then gestures to Rakan.

Ahri nods and her smile seems to brighten, causing a soft smile to form on Xayahs face. She couldn't help it.

"Well, this is Sarah Miss Fortune, the red gem of our group." Ahri gestures towards the reddish-orange haired girl, "and the little lizard over there is Neeko, our yellow star." Ahri gestures towards the lizard Vastayan, a bright smile on her face as she quickly rushes towards Xayah and Rakan.

"Oooh! Feathers! Neeko doesn't see feathers often!" Neeko says, clapping her hands and slowly morphing into a copy of Xayah, making Xayah gasp.

Neeko giggles and unmorphs, returning back to her normal self, "Neeko is Oovi-Kat, pleasure to meet your Sho'ma!" she says as she runs back towards Ahri, her eyes sparkling.

"Sorry about Neeko, she is very.. welcoming." Sarah says as she holds a hand out to Xayah and Rakan with a gentle smile on her face.

Xayah and Rakan shake her hand, smiling back and continue to get to know each other better.

This was going to be a long journey, but together, they would be unstoppable.


	3. The Rebel Star

_"The next one to call me 'edgy' is getting choked to death."_

»»————-————-««

3.

It's been a few months since Xayah and Rakan became Star Guardians, and to say they weren't happy would be an understatement. It was early in the morning, the sun radiating its beams down upon Xayah, noticing the absence of Rakan as she leaves her tent. Xayah looked towards a lake that was right next to their camping grounds, seeing Ahri sitting on a large rock that was resting just inside of the water. She watched Ahri, seemingly at peace with herself as she sat on the rock, more-than-likely listening to the waters song as it slowly drifted.

Xayah looked back inside of their tent, staring at the animal skins that laid on the ground to form a makeshift bed. The skins formed a somewhat rectangular shape, like the beds they have seen and used while venturing into human villages, at least the rare ones that accepted enough for them to rest inside. Most places see them as feral animals, with more bite than bark.

Xayah shook her head from her thoughts as she glanced around at the surrounding area, Ahri and Sarah's tents were huddled near Xayah and Rakans tent, but far enough for at least a bit of privacy. Neeko's tent was closer to the forest, but still close enough for them not to worry about any creatures that could harm her. All of the tents were now opened up, except for one on the far right, Sarahs tent. She preferred her privacy and personal space, at least that's what Xayah has learned over the past few months.

Xayah looked around once more, trying to see what Neeko was up to, and she notices Neeko in the far distance, deep inside of a bundle of trees. She poked things and shaped her mouth into an 'o' shape whenever an insect caught her attention, waving at each and every one she sees. Neeko was the more up-beat, nature-orientated one from what shes learned.

Just as Neeko is about to walk up behind a bird that was a few feet from her, theres a sound of ruffling leafs. Xayah looks at a tree right next to Neeko, the branches rapidly bobbing up and down, as if someone was trying to catch their balance, and unfortunately, that's exactly what was happening. Before Neeko reaches the bird she was sneaking up on, a large 'thump' sounded right behind her, alerting the bird and making it fly off.

Upset, Neeko turns around, only for Rakan to sitting be on the ground behind her, rubbing his head. Small sticks and.. acorns? were mixed in with his hair, and at this sight, Neeko puts her hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh, only to close her eyes, her body phasing into something, only to look like an exact clone of Rakan, from his clothes, to the sticks and acorns. This made Xayah chuckle slightly as she watched, turning her head just as she hears a frightened yelp from Rakan as he takes in the clone in front of him, mumbling something about probably hitting his head too hard.

A little ways away from where Neeko and Rakan are, there is a clearing in the trees, a large field with moderate-size grass sits, probably not over-growing from the deer and other animals that consistently pass through the area for food. In the center of the field, a picnic table sits, an empty plate sitting on it, probably from someone's breakfast.

Xayah takes a glance back at their tent, and she begins to make her way towards Ahri. As she approaches, Ahri turns her head towards Xayah, a soft smile on her face.

"Hi, Xayah. Beautiful morning, isn't it?" Ahri asks, keeping the smile on her face.

"Hi Ahri, indeed it is. However, I have some questions I would like to ask." Xayah says, hopping on a decent-sized rock right next to Ahri, sitting down and looking back towards Ahri.

"Well, I'm all ears." Ahri says, somewhat jokingly, her ears twitching slightly as she says it.

A few hours later, all of their stuff is packed up and they're on their way to their goal location for the day. Ahri and Sarah are in the front, a map in their hands as they focus on where to go, occasionally chatting or making a joke. Neeko was running around on both sides of them, trying to take in all of the nature and creatures excitedly, occasionally pulling Rakan to the side, who is usually writing in a small journal he keeps with him, when she finds a really pretty flower or plant. Xayah and Rakan were a bit behind all of them, a habit they have when with a group. Usually Xayah is in the front and Rakan is in the back, both guarding everyone, but Ahri insisted that she would take the lead, and Sarah joined her.

Xayah lets out a slight sigh, closing her eyes momentarily before opening them back up, her ears twitching slightly as she picks up on Neeko excitedly showing Rakan a colorful mushroom she had found. They had been walking for a while now, so Xayah walks past them and up to Ahri, glancing at the map.

"How close are we? The sun will be setting soon and being this deep in the forest it won't be safe to continue when it gets dark." Xayah asks, looking at Ahri.

Ahri smiles, holding the map up for Xayah to see better and pointing at a spot on it.

"We're here, so it won't be much longer until we reach the camp grounds. Maybe another hour at most." Ahri says as Xayah looks at where shes pointing and how close their destination for the day is.

Xayah nods and walks back towards Rakan who had finished looking at the mushroom, standing next to his side as she takes a look around. Rakan gently brushes the back of his hand against hers, which makes a very slight smile appear on her face as she looks towards him, taking his hand in hers as she nudges his arm slightly. Rakan looks at her curiously, and she motions her head towards where Neeko is. Neeko was holding Towa in her hands, her frog familiar, while a small, normal frog sat on Towas head, croaking sound as Neeko giggles, Towa puffing out his chest, a bland look on his face.

Xayah and Rakan both laugh quietly, catching Sarah's attention, making her look towards Neeko and Towa, laughing along with Xayah and Rakan.

Not much later after they had all settled down, Ahri and Sarah stop.

"Were here guys!" Ahri says.

Everyone but Xayah and Rakan let out a sigh of relief, and all start walking towards a large opening perfect for them to set up camp for the night. Xayah and Rakan set up their tent right next to a giant Oak tree, mainly for the extra shade and more protection if it rains. Ahri and Sarah set up their tents on the other side of the tree next to each other, chatting as they did. Neeko quickly set up her tent next to Xayah and Rakans, but not too close, so she could quickly wander and meet the creatures of the forest.

Before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set. Xayah and Rakan gathered some sticks and propped them up in the center of their camp, making a fire pit as Xayah uses a bit of her magic to ignite it. Rakan goes into their bags and gathers some fish and meat for them to eat while Xayah takes care of the fire, the others now making their way over to them. Once Xayah finishes, she takes the food gathered by Rakan and sits down next to the fire, handing everyone their fair portion to cook.

As everyone finishes cooking their food, insects begin to sing loudly, signaling that night was upon them. They slowly eat, and by time the sun has set they are all in their tents, getting ready to rest for the night. Neeko curls up in the corner of her tent on some deer skin, her tail wrapped around her as she plays with Towa while she tries to fall asleep. Ahri sits on her knees, brushing out her tails as Kiko grooms herself, and Sarah lays down in her tent, staring at the top of it as Boki and Baki sleep soundly, one on either side of her head.

Xayah lays down next to Rakan, only to have Rakan pull her onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Saki and Ran sit perched on a stick in their tent, huddled together while they sleep. Rakan plants a gentle kiss on the top Xayahs head, looking into her eyes as she looks up at him.

"Goodnight, miella." Rakan says as he leans back, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, mieli." Xayah says back, curling up slightly with her head on his chest, closing her eyes as well.

The creatures around them sing their songs of the night, acting almost as a lullaby for Xayah and Rakan as they slowly drift off to sleep.


	4. Stronger Together

_Can I just hate you to death?_

»»————-————-««

4.

They were getting close, Xayah could tell by the way Ahri seemed to be getting anxious. They haven't stopped in over 5 hours, so it's understandable that everyone more than likely wanted nothing but to sit down and rest. Neeko especially, seeing as she was basically dragging her feet with each step.

After a moment of watching Neeko fuss about how tired her feet were to Sarah and Sarah hitting her playfully on the head, and Neeko muttering what she could only assume to be an insult in Oovi-Kat, Xayah decided to close her eyes, taking in the peacefulness of the forest and the swift breeze that would occasionally blow. She felt calm, until an all too familiar feeling arises in her stomach. Her eyes quickly open and her ears twitch forward slightly, quickly but stealthily she looks all around them, trying to spot what made her feel the way she did.

"There's danger somewhere in this forest." Xayah thought to herself.

Xayahs once peaceful face was now long gone and replaced with a serious expression as she walks past the others and approaches Ahri and Sarah at the front of the group. Ahri looks at Xayah, slightly confused at her sudden appearance and the serious expression on her face.

"Hey Xayah, what's up?" Ahri asks, concern clear in her voice.

"We're getting close, right? Let me take the lead from here. You and Sarah can relax and enjoy the scenery while I guide us there the rest of the way." Xayah says, her serious expression never faltering.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's not that much further, we can keep guiding if-" Ahri says before she's cut off.

"It's fine. You two head behind with the others." Xayah says, causing Ahri to sigh and reluctantly hand over the map to Xayah.

Once Xayah takes the map, Ahri and Sarah move back with the others, Ahri deciding staying close to Xayah while Sarah goes to the back with Rakan.

Rakan looks over at Sarah, confusion all over his face as Sarah walks next to him. Sarah usually tried her best to keep her distance from the others most of the time so it was surprising that shes just suddenly walking next to Rakan.

"What happened to Xayah?" Rakan asks with a worried tone.

"Nothing, she just wanted to take the lead for some reason. Ahri tried to convince her not to but she pushed until Ahri handed over the map. There's obviously something bothering her, and I'm assuming Ahri sensed it seeing that she's sticking close to Xayah and keeping an eye on her. I'm not sure what's up, but maybe you should talk with her once we get to the village." Sarah says as she stares straight ahead, not looking at Rakan as she talks.

Rakan nods and continues walking, now worried about Xayah more than anything. He would be sure to see what was wrong once they get to the village.

»»————-————-««

After a few more hours and a few snores and mumbles about 'cheese breads' from Neeko as Rakan ended up having to carry her, they finally reach the village. Rakan was the first one to sigh in relief, shaking Neeko off of his back as she wakes up and shouts at him for 'interrupting her amazing dream about cheese breads' which resulted in a slight chuckle from Sarah.

As soon as they enter the village they are welcomed by a group of people who they assumed to be the ones who operated the village. A kind lady with light brown hair, probably in her late 30's walks them to a somewhat large visitors house.

This village was well known for being very welcoming of people, even Vastayan. They were very caring and always had their arms open to people in need. However, not many people visit the village since it is deep within this forest and a somewhat dangerous area to be wandering in.

Xayah had led them here to try and see if they needed any assistance, and to visit the Vastayan who lived within the village to ask them some questions.

After a quick tour of the small village, they are led to their lodge and left to settle in. They let visitors stay for free at the cost of paying for their own food around the village or helping them with anything that was causing potential danger to the village.

The house was fairly large, build out of a fine wood and split into two parts. The biggest part is where the beds were, 7 of them distanced fairly far apart with white screens separating each one to give everyone a bit of privacy. The other room had two sinks, two showers, and a place for someone to do their 'personal' business.

Instantly as they entered the house, Neeko ran to a bed in the far left corner and threw her bag next to it, collapsing on the bed and nearly instantly falling asleep. Sarah shook her head and took the bed across from Neeko, setting her small backpack next to it and taking her shoes off. Ahri and Sarah then wander to the tables on the other side of the house, laying out another map and discussing something that couldn't be heard unless nearby them.

Xayah sighs and makes her way to a bed in the far right corner of the house, sitting down and staring at her hands, seemingly in deep thought. Rakan follows her and pushes the bed beside Xayahs bed towards her, connecting the two beds to form a larger bed for the both of them to sleep together.

Xayah was still deep in thought until Rakan gently placed his hands over hers, a worried look on his face as Xayah glances up at him, shaking her head and offering him a slight smile.

Rakan glares at her slightly, causing Xayahs ears to lay down on her head as she looks away, only to have Rakan gently grab her chin and turn her face towards him, forcing her to look at him.

"Miella, what's wrong? What's bothering you?" Rakan asks, worry filling his voice.

Xayahs ears flatten against her head further, and she sighs.

"I just have a bad feeling. I don't want anyone to worry, I know we can take care of a problem if it arises, but I don't want to lead anyone into danger. That's why I led us straight here so everyone else could be safe." Xayah says, worry in her voice.

Rakan nods his head in understanding, pulling her closer to him and holding her tighter.

"Alright, we'll deal with this together, okay? We have others to back us up now, we're stronger together than we are alone." Rakan says to Xayah, gently running his fingers through her hair.

Xayah nods as Rakan pulls the both of them back to lay on their beds, Rakan still holding Xayah close. Rakan reaches over and turns off their lamp, the room now completely dark as everyone slowly drifts off to sleep.


	5. A Pop In Time

_"Every hero has a villain they created."_

»»————-————-««

5.

It was more than obvious that something was wrong. The atmosphere just didn't feel.. right. Xayah was first to sense it, and soon after Rakan. Once they knew for certain that something was up, they let the others in on what they felt and soon enough, all of them felt the uneasiness all around them. They knew something bad was coming, but what they feared was when it would arrive.

With that thought in mind, they left the village to ensure that whatever was coming would hopefully ignore the village completely. They knew they had to find the source to this, and they didn't want to lead anything harmful to the small village. It would just result in destruction of the village and more than likely some innocent lives at risk. None of them wanted that.

They all traveled close together, the uneasy feeling around them seeming to grow the further they traveled, thats when they realized it was trying to lure them.

How they knew this? They didn't exactly, but they could just feel the presence of something, which was pulling them towards whatever it was that was causing such a drastic shift in the air.

Xayah and Ahri took the lead, Rakan close behind them while Sarah and Neeko walked close to the right. They debated on spreading out, but that thought quickly vanished at the many risks that could occur with that decision.

The force continued to pull them, the uneasiness shifting more and more as they continued.

"Neeko doesn't like this feeling.." Neeko says with an uncertain tone to her voice. "What if this is something out of Neekos league.. I mea-" Neeko was cut off by a slap to the back of the head by Sarah.

"Shut it! We're Star Guardians for a reason, aren't we? Stop thinking about the 'what ifs' and think about the lives we could potentially be saving." Sarah says with an annoyed tone, glaring slightly at Neeko.

Let's just say, that definitely shut her up.

»»————-————-««

It felt like they have been walking for hours, but in reality it was probably not more than 20 minutes. They were now in the middle of a forest that none of them had any knowledge about.

Neeko always tried to speak up and try to convince them to turn around, but it always resulted in a slap to the back of the head by Sarah and a few chuckles from Rakan.

Xayah seemed to be the most uneasy out of them all. She would jump slightly at any sound and kept her eyes open at all costs. This worried Rakan a lot, he had never seen her this on edge before. He knew whatever they were walking into was nothing good.

They continued walking for another 10 minutes or so before the pull they had been feeling the whole time just suddenly disappeared.

They were in the middle of a field, while the pull being gone, the uneasy feeling seeming to be stronger here than it has ever been in the previous hour.

That's when they noticed how quiet it was. No animals singing their songs, no running water from a flowing lake, not even the wind seemed to make a sound as it gracefully blew past them.

Hell, out of all of the things Xayah swore she could hear a leaf falling in the distance.

That's when they decided against all else to form pairs if desperate measures needed to be taken despite their worries from earlier. However, they would remain a group unless they absolutely needed to split.

Ahri and Sarah were the first two to pair up, which was understandable. Neeko, Xayah and Rakan paired themselves together.

They walked slowly through the field, stopping in the center, and strangely enough, time seemed to move faster as they reached the center, the sun seeming to disappear and darkness to take its place.

This made all of them take a step back, cautiously looking around for any potential threat. The uneasy feeling increased more, if that was even possible. It was almost unbearable, and the fact that things just didn't seem right at all didn't help with the growing feeling.

It wasn't long after that when they noticed a slight humming that could be heard from somewhere around them. Xayah, Rakan, and Ahris ears twitched at the somewhat irritating noise. The humming sounded like a soft lullaby, but seemed to have an almost inconsolable strain to it. They all glanced around, trying to find the source of it.

"Look! Up there!" Neeko calls out, pointing to the sky.

There, in the dark sky, circles seemed to glisten as they slowly drifted towards the team.

"Are those.. stars?" Rakan asks, the circles too far away to really make out exactly what they were.

"No, stars aren't circular like that." Ahri pipes in, and that's when the circles were close enough to see clearly.

"Bubbles?.." Neeko questions, only filling all of them with more confusion as the bubbles slowly float down in front of them.

"Be careful, there's something inside of them." Sarah says sternly, noticing the dark matter that seemed to float carelessly inside of the bubbles.

A few moments passed, all of them now noticing that the humming was somehow coming from the bubbles. The bubbles multiplied, all of them floating in front of the Star Guardians, seeming to take some sort of shape and mock them.

"Alright, enough of this!" Sarah suddenly shouts, pointing her guns towards the bubbles and taking aim.

"Sarah don't!-" Ahri yells, trying to push Sarah's arms down.

She was too late.

Sarah fired a large stream of bullets right through the center of the bubbles, missing them, but the shape that it was forming scrambled and the bubbles started to circle around the Star Guardians, closing them in a tight barrier.

Xayah growled, Rakan quickly rushing in front of her, getting into a defensive position. Sarah was getting yelled at by Ahri while Neeko looked around fearfully, slowly backing towards the edge of the barrier behind the others yet not close enough to touch it. Ahri glared up at the only opening which was high above their heads, the scattered stars in the sky being their only current light source.

That was until all of the Star Guardians began to glow.

It started with Rakan, then shortly behind him it went to Xayah, then Ahri, Sarah, and then finally Neeko. They all shined brightly as they let their light out.

The light that they made seemed to break the barrier that surrounded them, and with their opportunity they all ran out before it could close again.

That's when they noticed some sort of portal in the sky, and after a few moments a young girl came out of it. The girl was mainly a dark purple but there were galactic-like colors all over her. She had one pink eye and one blue eye with stars in the center that seemed to shine with pure evil.

The girl giggled and then grinned, swaying her arms towards the previous bubble barrier and humming a short toon.

Before they could even look back, a loud popping sound filled the air and a strong gust of wind blew past them.

The bubble barrier had popped, leaving a hole of what looked like a strange kind of ink on the ground beneath where it previously was.

"Corruption..." Sarah whispers quietly.

Ahri, Rakan, and Ahri kept a close eye on the girl while Sarah kept her eyes on the corruption. Xayah turned her head towards the back of the group and noticed that Neeko was missing.

Xayah looked around frantically, only to spot Neeko running towards the tree-line, a terrified expression on her face.

The young girl in the sky seemed to also notice the retreating Star and let out an evil laugh, swaying her arms once again but this time towards Neeko, causing a portal to appear in front of her just as she looks back to see what the young girl was laughing at.

"Neeko!" Xayah screams, causing Neeko to look back in front of her, just a second too late.

A force pulls Neeko into the portal and it disappears, leaving no sign of it or of Neeko.

"What did you do to her?!" Xayah and Ahri both yelled at the same time, now beginning to run towards where the young girl hovered in the sky.

Before they could reach her, she shoots them a smirk and the vanishes back into her portal, disappearing from sight.

Xayah and Ahri stopped running, glancing around with pure anger and worry running through them.

Sarah began to run towards where Neeko vanished, trying to find any sign that the portal could have left.

Rakan was about to run after Xayah and Ahri but he was stopped by Sarah who ran back over and grabbed his arm.

"What?!?" Rakan shouts at Sarah angrily.

Sarah glares slightly, "You need to calm down, this is no time to be angry. We need to think of a plan and not act off of anger." Sarah says, staring at Rakan.

Rakan glares slightly at her and yanks his arm away, but nods his head. He looks back towards Xayah and Ahri, seeing them both talking with worried expressions on their face but their anger seeming to have left them.

That's when Rakan looked back towards the corruption, as he heard Sarah call it, that still lied on the ground, and he noticed a slight movement.

Within seconds, the corruption seemed to spread quickly, seeming to makes its way towards Xayah and Ahri.

"Xayah, Ahri, run!" Rakan screams as the corruption quickly begins to move towards them, getting closer and closer to Xayah and Ahri.

Muffled, evil, childish laughter fills the air as Ahri and Xayah begin to run, only for Xayah to trip on a stone, Ahri quickly looking back and holding a hand out, screaming Xayahs name.

But it was too late.

Before she could even move, Xayah was being coated with the corruption, screaming as it covered her body like a blanket.

Ahri watches in horror as the substance stops moving towards her, just wrapping around Xayah as she screams in agony. Ahri rushes towards Rakan, tears streaming down her face and Rakan stares, stunned.

"Rakan, Ahri, we need to go, now!" Sarah shouts, getting ready to run from the corruption. "There's nothing we can do for her now! I'm sorry!" Sarah screams, tears running down her face.

Before Ahri can even move to try and grab Rakans arm, he's sprinting towards Xayah and falls to his knees, brining her onto his lap and gently cradling her, not even phased by the corruption that is now slowly covering his body just as it did to Xayah.

Ahri and Sarah scream his name, but all that can be heard is a slight buzzing, and soon after, darkness.

»»————-————-««

A/N

Woah-oh, seems like we've gotten to the good part! 

It's also Worlds season, and you know what that means? New Worlds anthem!!!!

There's only a few more chapters left in this story, and it's honestly been pretty fun writing it.

Anyways, see you guys soon!


	6. Within the Twilight

_"Who needs love when you've got a cloak made from dark-matter knives?"_

»»————-————-««

**6.**

It was cold and dark.

Xayah could feel nothing but the chilling of her blood as the corruption seemed to find its way into her bloodstream, reforming it into the inky darkness that had been on the ground and coated her body from what she could last remember.

As she faded away, she felt the presence of a familiar touch on her face, caressing it as droplets of what she could only assume to be tears landing on her skin.

_'No.. No don't..'_ Xayah tried to say, but all she could do was speak in her own isolated mind.

She wanted to push him away, stop him from enduring the suffering that she was currently going through. He didn't deserve this pain, especially since it seemed to only want her.

She felt the presence fall beside her, a force colliding with her chest which she assumed to be his head.

_'No.. why..' _she thought to herself as all she could feel was her icy blood and pain that thumped throughout her body.

But she noticed something else.

The normal beat that sung through her ears, alerting her that she was living, breathing. It was gone.

She no longer heard the song of life within her, no, all she heard was silence. A sickening silence that made her want to pull at her hair and run. But she couldn't.

All she could do was lay there and wonder how she was still recognizing the darkness, how she still felt the frigid, abhorrent darkness swimming through her blood like a lake on a frosty winter day.

She wondered how her mind was still present, yet the beating of her now lifeless heart was long gone. She hadn't even noticed when it started to beat again. It felt so faint, so unreal. This wasn't normal.

Xayah sat up with a loud gasp, breathing in air that had been absent from her lung for too long. She began to cough violently, the air filling her lungs leaving a burning sensation that was nearly unbearable.

A heinous laugh rung through the air to the right of Xayah, and it was only then that she noticed the young girl from earlier hovering in the air with her legs crossed.

Wait.

Xayah looked down, noticing that she was sitting on.. nothing. She pushed her hand down only for it to phase through the darkness beneath her, causing a shiver to run throughout her body.

"No point in trying to touch anything here. It's just void." The young girl said with an obnoxious tone, a hint of humor in it.

Did she think this was humorous?

A portal formed in front of Xayah and before she could blink the young girl was right in her face, staring deep into her eyes.

Xayah tried to move back, only to seemingly hit some sort of barrier. She was trapped, and there was no way she could get out of here.

The young girl smiled wickedly, seeming to enjoy Xayahs fear and restlessness.

"Where.. where am I?" Xayah asked with a flat, yet fearful tone.

A giggle sounded from the young girl again, "I already told you, silly! You're in the void." A devilish smirk appeared on the girls face.

Xayah glared at her, fear now being overrun by anger and irritation, "Who are you?" Xayah asks again.

A serious expression now took place on the girls face, something that made a sense of dread pierce through Xayah for some odd reason.

"So many questions, now I remember why I stopped doing this." The girl says with a sigh, "My name is Zoe, member of the first group of Star Guardians." Zoe sent a wink towards Xayah.

Xayahs eyes widened at the new information. She was never interested in the Star Guardians as a child, so she never bothered to learn much about them, but the one thing she does remember was her fathers warnings about one of the first stars. One that instead of having a desire for love, had a desire for chaos.

Another giggle came from Zoe, "Don't worry, you're not in danger, at least, not anymore." A wicked smirk appeared on Zoe's face again as she gestured towards Xayahs body.

Xayah, for the first time, looked down at herself, only to be met with something that sent yet another pang of fear through her.

Her body was coated in the corruption, making her skin appear as the dark substance mixed with what Xayah assumed to be stars, they way they seemed to somehow sparkle with the darkness that surrounded them. The look of it was captivating, yet terrifying.

Xayah quickly looked away and towards Zoe, eyes now filled with anger, "What did you do to me?!" Xayah shouts.

"Oh, you know. I only _revived_ you." Zoe smirks, now wandering in circles around Xayah, taunting her, "I sent _my_ precious corruption at you, which in all honesty was aimed at the fox that accompanied you, but this worked out too I suppose. Buuuut it so unfortunately killed you, luckily for you I was feeling nice and decided to resurrect you and that friend of yours. You know, it does get lonely around here, but now I have you guys to fight with me and entertain me! Kinda cool, right? It's just like the old days!" Zoe claps, her eyes sparking with madness.

The mention of Rakan only spiked Xayahs anger, "What? Where is he?? What did you do to him?!" Xayah says, desperation and anger leaking in her voice as she yells at Zoe.

Zoe rolls her eyes, "He's fine. Sleeping, but fine. He came to 'rescue' you and with his stupidity got killed by the corruption in the process." Zoe says, making a somewhat gagging noice when saying the word 'rescue', "So I decided to have some fun and resurrect both of you! You should be grateful, isn't it an honor to be resurrected by one of the first stars?" Zoe says mockingly, smirking at Xayah the whole time.

Xayah only glared at Zoe, "This isn't an honor, this is a curse. I will never fight for you." Xayah spat, pure anger in her tone.

Zoe's smirk vanished for a moment, but was then replaced by a grin, "We'll see about that." Zoe says before swaying her arms.

Xayah began to feel drowsy as a lullaby played, sounding ragged and bare of any happiness, yet somehow she started to find comfort in it. Images of memories flooded through her mind, images that Zoe was bending and putting into her head.

They showed Ahri, Sarah, Ezreal, and Soraka.

They showed Ahri running while Xayah got sucked into the corruption, doing nothing to try and save her.

They showed Sarah just standing there and watching, frozen in her place as she watched Xayah be consumed.

They showed Neeko, running through a portal with what looked like complete intention, like she knew exactly what she was doing.

Finally, they showed her lover, Rakan, running towards her, dropping to his knees and cradling her face in his hands as the corruption slowly covered him as it did to Xayah.

Xayah tried to scream, tried to stop him from his pending demise, but she couldn't. Just like before, she was stuck. Unable to move or speak.

Then, that's when anger began to run through her. Anger and hate, not for herself, not for her lover, but for the people who she thought she could trust. Her team, her guide through the world that she was newly born into as a star.

How could they have done that to them? How could they run and leave them to die, their own team members? Hatred boiled through Xayah, and soon all of the good memories and trust that had grown within her snapped like a weak stick.

She would get revenge, she would show them what they had done, what their karma will be for leaving them to die.

She will show them what true darkness looks like.

»»————-————-««

**A/N**

Woaaah, 2 updates within 2 days? What is this madness??

Wellll I'm trying to finish this story so I can focus on the others, and in all honesty I'm having so much fun writing this story that I just don't want to stop, especially since the ending is already written out. 

Anyways, I will more than likely post another part super duper soon, so like always, see you soon!


	7. Sickening Silence

_"Dreams are only real until you wake up."_

»»————-————-««

**7.**

Rakans eyes shot open as he began to hyperventilate, taking in the darkness around him and the brutal nightmare that flashed through his head just seconds prior. He rests a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes as his head throbs violently.

What the hell did she do to Xayah?

Rakan had watched it all, from Xayah getting coated in the corruption to the pure hatred that glistened in her eyes as she opened them after refusing to accept the offer from Zoe.

Where the hell am I?

Rakan shook his head, the throbbing slowly settling as he finally realizes that he's in the same place that his mate was. And it was only the clearing of someone's throat that caught his attention as he quickly moved his head in the direction it came from.

There, to his right, sat Xayah.. but this wasn't the Xayah he knew. She was in her Star Guardian form, but it was.. different. The one thing that stood out the most to him however, was the change in her song. It sounded.. disoriented and would make even the bravest person quiver in fear.

"Well, are you going to continue to stare at me or are you going to get moving? We have to go to Zoe and I'm not going to wait for you any longer." Xayah says with an annoyed yet mostly monotone voice.

This definitely wasn't his Xayah.

"What.. what did she do to you?" Rakan asks in a pain-filled tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xayah says as she stares at Rakan blankly, then turns her head and begins to walk through the darkness, "Get moving and stop with that pity act, it's not going to get you anywhere." she finishes as she stands towards the edge of the black and in what seemed to be a doorway.

Rakan got up and followed her, thinking of what to do in his head. This wasn't Xayah, at least not on the inside. He knew she had to still be in there deep down, as he was still at least decently aware of what had happened. This has to do with whatever Zoe did to her mind, and he sure as hell wouldn't stop until he fixed what Zoe has broken.

*****

"Ah! It's about time you two show up." Zoe says as she floats over to Xayah and Rakan as they enter the void room she is in, "Its about time he woke up. Would've had to get rid of him if he stayed asleep any longer." Zoe said in a taunting tone.

Rakan couldn't help but notice the slight shift in Xayahs song as Zoe said that, a feeling of anger and fear making an appearance before being covered up again.

So she is still there, just under a layer of darkness that Zoe has built up.

"My apologies," Xayah says as she quickly bows to Zoe, "He is awake now and we can continue with our plan." Xayah finishes, looking at Zoe with hollow eyes.

Rakan looks at Zoe, confused as to what Xayah meant. Zoe just grins and nods, gesturing towards Xayah and then speaks.

"It seems your friend here wasn't informed," Zoe says as she gestures towards Rakan, "Well, Rakan, you and Xayah will be scouting out your old friends and getting some sweet revenge on them." Zoe says as a devilish smirk appears on her face.

Rakan quickly looks over to Xayah, but is only met with hollowed eyes as Xayah nods.

Rakan thinks for a moment, debating on what he should do. He needed to get Xayah back, so maybe if he puts up an act to please them he will be able to observe her for weak spots. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

So, hesitantly but then filled with newfound determination, Rakan looks at Zoe and nods his head, no emotion showing in his eyes, and with a pleased grin from Zoe, she turns and moves her arms, making what appeared to be an illusion of a memory in the wall of the void, "Remember this?" Zoe chimes as she smirks.

There, on the wall, showed Neeko running into one of Zoe's portals and then disappearing. Xayah and Rakan only nodded, bitter looks on their faces.

"Well, little lizard right there will act as our bait. I transported her to a place deep in the galaxy, which she is now trapped in. She is currently asleep, and I made it so her communications are cut off from the others so they won't come for her yet, but once you two get there I will drop the barrier which will allow them to reach her, and will break the spell that is currently keeping her asleep. However, I will warn you that I have messed around a bit and made it so that the place she is in is kind of like a never ending stairway. If she tries to make a run for it when she wakes up, I've made a portal large enough to blend in with the only exit of the area, and if she runs through it she will be transported back to the center of the room." Zoe explains as she moves her arms down, causing the memory to fade from the void wall.

Xayah and Rakan nod, processing the information and watching Zoe closely.

Zoe opens a portal and a dark room appears with a strange structure in the center.

(The place is from the animated trailer "Light and Shadow" so watch that to know exactly what it looks like)

Xayah and Rakan stare at it for a moment, before Zoe speaks up again.

"That is the altar of the First Star. It's hidden away deep in space, a place that only my old team and I knew of." Zoe says, no emotion showing in her voice, "That lizard is sleeping in one of the corners, which you two will immediately see once you go through the portal." Zoe finishes as she gestures towards the portal.

Xayah and Rakan walk up to the portal, staring at it as Zoe begins to float into the air.

"I will be watching you two from up here, and I will come in when I think the time is right. Good luck!" Zoe claps and before they can protest, they are sucked into the portal, it closing as they are pushed out of it. With that, there is only one thought on Rakans mind.

_I will find a way to save all of us._


	8. I Will Save You

»»————-————-««

8.

Feathers slice viciously through the air as a colorful lizard Vastaya, Neeko, rushes between them, dodging them only by the slightest.

Xayah grunts loudly, pulling back few of her feathers, catching Neeko, but only to realize that it was a clone, and not her actual target.

Xayah looks around, trying to figure out where pesky little Neeko went until she hears a sound behind her. Xayah turns her head only to be met with Neeko coming out of invisibility, and instantly Xayah reacts by trying to throw a few more feathers at her.

Neeko slings a tangle of yellow light at Xayah, attempting to root her, but Rakan quickly dashes in-front of his mate, shielding her from it.

Xayah growls and pushes Rakan away, jumping up as she nears Neeko.

Neeko stands still for a moment, stunned as Xayah lands and her entire body turns into a silhouette of dark matter.

As the shock wears off, Neeko begins to run again, only to have Rakan quickly dash up beside her, running at the same speed as the fast lizard. Rakan tries to suspend her into the air with a spiral, but is instead met with nothing.

Xayah however, continues to chase in the general direction that Neeko was running, and sure enough, she appeared again just a few seconds later. However, something was different.

The stupid little lizard had turned into Xayah.

Xayah began to throw feathers at her duplicate as Neeko did the same, each dodging the others feathers as they slice through the air.

However, when Neeko turns her head to try and throw another set of feathers at Xayah, she runs into a pillar and staggers forward slightly, groaning out in pain.

Rakan sees the duplicate and Xayah, but not knowing which is which he runs in front of Neeko and shields her before throwing one of his own magical feathers at Xayah. Xayah attempts to block it, but it still ended up causing her to gasp out in pain.

Xayah reaches her hand out towards Neeko and quickly limps towards Rakan, grabbing onto him and falling slightly as she reaches him.

Rakan catches Xayah and looks down at her with guilt on his face, but Xayah only reaches towards Neeko as she turns back into herself, a fearful look on her face as she begins to run again.

Suddenly, Rakan notices the dark matter spreading on her face. He caresses her cheek as a bright glow begins to emit from him, getting rid of the dark matter on her, and making her phase back into her original Star Guardian form for a split second.

Xayah realizing that the pain is gone, quickly rushes from Rakans arms and chases after Neeko again. Not even caring about Rakan or how her pain was gone.

As Xayah runs away, Rakan reaches for her and limps slightly, only to stop and grip his arm as the dark matter that was once on Xayahs face now covers his arm. Rakan stands there, slightly stunned.

Did he just.. take her corruption? That pale pink.. it felt like it had been so long since he had saw it.. could he revert her darkness?

He knew he had light still inside of him, and he knew that he could heal her, but he had no idea his light could do that.

Neeko continues to run, panting loudly and desperately as she does.

Neeko took this opportunity to rush towards the stairs, jumping over broken pillars and swinging from fractured beams to move as quickly as possible, knowing well that Xayah and Rakan were right behind her.

When she reaches the room above them, she stops and smirks in accomplishment, but the smirk quickly fades as she notices that she was somehow back in the room she was in just a minute prior.

The room seems to spin as Neeko looks around, trying to figure out what was happening.

However, while Neeko was focused on that, Zoe pops in behind her and giggles, then moves her hand to form a portal in front of Neeko, causing Xayah and Rakan to run out of it and appear.

Neeko looks at them confused then looks at Zoe, only for the little girl to wave cheekily.

While looking at Zoe, Xayah took the chance and pulls back some more of her feathers that were scattered throughout the room, hitting Neeko and rooting her where she stood.

With a pained cry, Neeko struggles to try and get free as Zoe begins to summon dark matter onto her.

Rakan watches with a guilty look, while Xayah watches with no emotion present on her face.

He needed to do something, Rakan thought as he glanced around, trying to find some way to stop Zoe.

However, Rakan didn't have to search for long because before he could do anything, a piece of stone from one of the walls broke loose, causing a ray of light to shine toward Neeko.

The corruption instantly disappeared, and Zoe glances towards the small hole, frowning.

Before Zoe can send Xayah or Rakan to patch the hole, the wall erupts, drowning the entire room in light from the outside.

Not long after, a figure appears in the center of the broken wall, a fox Vastaya who had a blank expression on her face.

Neeko looked at the fox, and instantly a smile lit up on her face, fascination and relief obvious in her expression.

"Ahri!" Neeko calls out as she tries harder to break free from Xayahs root.

Ahri looks at Neeko, and for a second her face softens before returning to a blank expression as she notices Zoe glaring at her just a few feet from Neeko.

Ahri takes a step forward, but instantly Xayah runs in front of Neeko, glaring at the fox.

Once Ahri realizes what she was looking at, a shocked expression appears on her face as she sees Xayah, and it only grows as she looks behind Xayah and sees Rakan.

"Xayah.. Rakan.. I thoug-" Ahri was about to finish but Xayah decided to finish for her.

"You thought we were dead? Well, you're somewhat right, but also wrong." Xayah says as her glare intensifies, "We did die, but once you and everyone else ran, Zoe resurrected us." Xayah says as she prowls slightly, making sure Neeko stays behind her.

"I-" Ahri tries to speak but is quickly interrupted.

"I don't want to hear any of your petty excuses." Xayah snaps, "There's no excuse for what happened. There's no way for you to fix what has happened." Xayah says more lowly, glancing back at Rakan slightly, but she quickly turns her head back towards Ahri, "There is no way to fix us." Xayah finishes, and just as she's about to lunge at Ahri, Zoe throws a ball of dark matter at Xayah, throwing her backwards towards Rakan and causing her to cry out in pain.

"Don't you dare even think about doing anything unless ordered. She is mine to take care of, and you know this. My toy hasn't broke now, has it?" Zoe glares at Xayah and slowly makes her way towards her.

Before Zoe can throw another ball at Xayah, Rakan jumps in front of Xayah and shields her, causing the dark matter to reflect and land on the ground, disappearing as it does.

While Zoe and the birds were distracted, Ahri takes the opportunity to run towards Neeko.

Ahri summons some of her light to get rid of the root and as soon as Neeko is free, she tackles Ahri and hugs her tightly. Ahri returns the hug with a gentle smile on her face.

Zoe glares at both birds and huffs, "It seems like both of you have broke. What a shame." Zoe says before popping away through a portal and within a second appearing behind them, hitting Rakan right at his gem with a ball of dark matter.

Zoe disappears again, but this time she doesn't reappear.

Instantly Rakan falls, holding back his screams as the dark matter slowly coats his gem, making it decay.

Ahri and Neeko watch in horror but decide not to get involved yet, as Xayah and Rakan were still technically a threat to them.

"Rakan!" Xayah shouts as she drops to her knees and positions herself over him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Xayah.. miella.." Rakan says with a distant tone, slowly fading away as he lifts his hand to her cheek and caresses it gently.

"Shut up! Stop talking, you need to save your energy!" Xayah shouts again, tears now running down her cheeks and dripping onto Rakans chest.

With a slight smile, Rakan rests his hand on Xayahs gem, gently tracing the outline on it as he slowly closes his eyes.

"Miella.. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you back there.. I'm so sorry..." Rakan whispers, "But let me make it up to you now.. please.." Rakan says as he slowly closes his eyes.

Xayah looks at him with a confused expression, but before she can protest Rakan begins pushing through her mind, through their soul link. He pushes all of his light through their link, all of the light he had stored away just for her.

"Rakan! Stop! Don't do this!" Xayah pleads as she realizes what he's doing, but she can't move. He had charmed her.

"Miella.." Rakan says weakly as he pushes the last of his light into her, along with sending Riku through their link, and slowly opens his eyes, finally seeing the pale pink he had hoped to see, and watched as she shined brighter than he had ever seen.

He had done it, he had gotten rid of her corruption.

"Miella, please don't be sad. I wanted this, I wanted to see you shine bright again. It was my only wish, and now my wish is fulfilled. Do not let the darkness take over again, please shine bright, for me." Rakan says with one last breath.

Xayah cries out as his body slowly begins to fade, little speckles of light floating upwards to the sky as his body disappears.

"Rakan! You idiot! No! Come back!" Xayah screams as she punches the ground where his body was seconds prior, sobbing harshly.

Zoe hadn't come back yet, leaving Xayah to watch her love die. She wanted them to suffer for disobeying her.

Ahri and Neeko as Xayah sobbed, hours seemed to go by before they begin to fade as she slowly passes out, the last of her energy leaving her.

Neeko looked at Ahri as tears trailed down the leaders cheeks, clutching her hand over her chest as she slowly makes her way towards Xayah, being as silent as possible in order to not wake her.

She reaches Xayah, slowly snaking her arm under one of Xayahs arms and picks her up slightly.

Neeko quickly rushes towards Ahri and helps by using one of her own arms to support the other side of Xayah, balancing her so she wouldn't fall, and picking her up the rest of the way.

As they make their way out of the place, Ahri notices a sparkle out of the corner of her eye.

She turns her head and looks up at the dark sky, a single star sparkling. It seemed to follow them as they walked, but disappear as they ascend into the air to make their journey back home.

A/N

Ahhh guys! This story is almost over! Just one more chapter until the end, and holy hell this has been one hell of a journey. Thank you everyone who has read this story, and as always, I'll see you all soon!


	9. Substantial Remorse

**10.**

...I felt so cold.

...so _lonely_.

Xayah didn't even know how long she'd been in here, locked away inside of her room within the Star Guardian house.

But she does know that ever since she returned 'home', the newly born Stars have been asking about her, especially the new pink haired one. She was always trying to get Ahri to let her come in and talk to her, to try and lure her out of the dark room she had been hiding in.

It's funny how quickly the First Star is willing to replace those who she had created.

But Ahri was smart. She knew Xayah needed time to fully accept what had happened, to slowly regain the trust and mentality to face others.

Because right now, Xayah was extremely unstable. It's not like she wanted to hurt myself, and she still ate regularly. But she just felt _empty_, like she had no purpose.

Xayah constantly wish that she could have swapped places with Rakan. He didn't deserve what happened to him, and she always thought that she didn't deserve his light that he had given her.

That she didn't deserve anything.

That thought would never go away, but over time she learned to push it to the very depths of my mind so she could actually begin to concentrate again without the constant waves of guilt and sadness.

Xayah was still weak, and even if the corruption inside was gone, the ache her my veins never ceased to disappear. Luckily for her however, it became bearable and controllable over time as well.

With time came healing, and with healing came more and more opportunities to grow stronger, to fight what was constantly hammering her down.

It definitely helped Saki got strong enough. Xayah needed someone, or something there to communicate with. Her feathery little familiar just so happened to be ideal.

Rakan had sent Riku to Xayah through the bond, which was understandable. The poor thing would lose its link and just become a stray familiar if he wasn't put into the care of someone else, someone to guide them.

Riku had refused Xayah as his new soul link at first, but slowly over time the soul link that Xayah and Rakan had shared became more and more apparent to the little bird and he finally accepted it. Let's just say, him and Saki definitely hit it off.

When Xayah and Rakan were corrupted, their familiars were unable to surface due to the light within them fighting off the darkness.

Xayah and Rakans blood may have been coated with dark matter, but their Saki and Riku got a choice on fighting it or letting it take over.

They chose the wise decision to fight it.

Things were tough at first, as Xayah had to find a way to make Riku obey her and to train him to work with Saki. But after a while, it was as if he was born to fight with the two of them.

As Xayah glanced out of a small window next to her bed, she noticed that the sun was beginning to set, oranges and pinks dancing together in the sky, putting on a beautiful performance for anyone willing to watch.

Xayah stood up and glanced towards the door and then towards the window again.

It had been a while since she had been outside, and watching the sun set was the perfect excuse.

So with that thought in mind, Xayah left her room and headed outside to find a spot to watch the sun set.


	10. Light and Shadow - Epilogue

Hey guys! Before this chapter starts, I would like to ask if you could please play the song Light and Shadow (the SG song by league of legends) when it says to. It'll make the chapter better, I promise.

»»————-————-««

"You know my love will save you."

»»————-————-««

Xayah sat on the edge of a tall building next to where her team currently took shelter. The rough battle just hours prior had left them drained and somewhat wounded, both mentally and physically, so they decided to stay somewhere close yet safe.

Xayahs wings spread out wide, glistening as the light of the moon reflects off of them. It had been a long time since she had felt the light so vividly, and she couldn't lie when she said that it was breathtaking.

It felt as if the light was bathing her, purifying her once more. It seemed as if she was given a second chance, a chance that she basked in for the moment, enjoying the freedom from her previous insufferable fate. She was no longer a Corrupted Star, she was once again a Star Guardian.

Xayah graciously took in her surroundings, feeling the all too familiar presence of talons slightly digging into her shoulders.

Saki sat perched on her right shoulder, while Riku sat on her left. Saki gently nuzzles Xayahs neck while Riku stares upwards, an almost sad look on his face. Xayah knew that he was thinking of his master, still grieving and not yet accepting that he was now just a wandering spirit. Thankfully Xayah took it upon herself to take in the bird, having known him since his spirit was linked to Rakan. If no one would reclaim the poor lost spirit, he would drift into nothingness and soon meet the same fate that his previous master had unfortunately met.

Xayah looks to where Riku is staring, which results in her looking straight at the gloomy night sky. They both stared, the scattered stars that glistened seem to mock them, making a strange feeling rise in Xayahs stomach. The mocking worked, as Xayah soon realized that the strange feeling was one of jealousy flooding through her body. She felt jealous of the night sky, how the stars seemed to shine so bright while surrounded by such inky darkness.

It was only now that she realized that was exactly how Rakan had been. Always protecting her even when the darkness took over her mind, making her not even bat an eye when he would nearly die protecting her all of those times. He put up an act of foolishness and evil to hide his true plans from Zoe. He was her light in the darkness, he had realized that. He saw what happened when he would use his stored light, he saw that it would revert her, even if it was just for a short second. It made him determined after seeing that, so he stored all of his remaining light for her, to make her shine bright once again. Not once caring about what would happened to him in the end.

A sharp pain went through Xayah at the thought of Rakan, a sharp pain that she had been feeling since Rakan had so selflessly sacrificed himself.

How could he do this to her? How could he leave her like this? With the feeling of sadness, of regret, but mostly the feeling of loss?

She had lost the one person she held dear to her heart, the one who was supposed to live happily with her forever. She had lost her only true love, her soul mate.

Xayah then realized what she was thinking, how he had sacrificed himself for her. He could have saved himself, but instead he saved her. She decided to block out the sharp pains as best as she could, only paying attention to the empty feeling in her heart. She didn't deserve to feel anything except for emptiness.

"Miella, please don't be sad. I wanted this, I wanted to see you shine bright again. It was my only wish, and now my wish is fulfilled. Do not let the darkness take over again, please shine bright, for me."

Rakans final words repeated in her mind like a looping curse, a never ending coil that slowly began to kill every feeling inside of her. Tears pricked her eyes as she continued to stare at the night sky. Xayah couldn't help but wonder if one of the stars in the sky was her lover.

Xayah scanned the sky, looking at each and every star that was visible to her eyes. All she wanted was a sign, some sort of sign that her mate got the peace that he deserved.

She then glanced at Riku.

"Do you think he is out there? Watching over us?" Xayah asked Riku, her voice painfully soft and desperate.

Riku glanced at Xayah, the little bird seeming to nod its head sadly at Xayahs question.

Xayah sighed, glancing back at the sky.

As she stared at the sky once more, tears began to run down Xayahs face, desperation now clouding her mind at the want of some sort of sign that he was up there. She paused to take a deep breath, stopping the tears and calming herself down. Rakan wouldn't want to see her cry, he hated it when she would cry.

It was then that Riku started to fly into the air, Xayah watching him closely as he seemed to now have an undying rage running through him. It was then when she had realized what Riku had done.

He had accepted Xayah, at least partially. Their souls linked to where she could feel his emotions, his intentions. A slight smile grazed her lips as she cherished the fact that the one thing her mate had left her had willingly accepted her.

Xayah then searched until she found what could have angered the small bird, watching as the stars glistened in almost a rhythmic pattern. It began to anger her at how happy and peaceful they seemed, how they refused to let her know that her soulmate was resting peacefully with them.

start song here*

Xayah begins to hum quietly, somewhat glaring at the stars to try and show them that they weren't the only ones who could be so bright, and with that, she began to sing.

"How does it feel?

Got no one on your side

It isn't how

It is really meant tobe"

Xayah starts softly, still glaring at the stars as tears begin to prick her eyes again. No, she won't cry. She can't cry.

"How does it feel?

Got no one on your side

It isn't how

It is really meant tobe"

She repeats, but this time with more emotion and force, letting her anger and envy show with every word she sang. Riku had started to hover, all anger vanishing him as he began to stare at Xayah with a look of amazement and understanding.

"Aslight and shadow

Thesun and the moon

Torn between loveand hate"

Saki had now flown up to Riku, and side by side they hovered, watching Xayah.

"I've gotta get it somehow

Gaining by losing always haunt us

To our dying day, stuck in the haze"

Xayah continues, her tone slightly lowering.

"How did it ever come to this?"

Xayah glances down below for a second, a few tears running down her face. Saki and Riku look at her sadly, but they leave her. She needed this, she needed to let all of this that she had been bottling inside of her.

Xayah takes a deep breath and stands up, looking at the stars again as she continues.

"I thought I'd never see you again

Once the stars were scattered in pieces, all over the galaxy"

She sings, tears of sadness and anger now streaming down her face, unable to hold them back any longer.

Riku flys back down, Saki following close behind and they both land on Xayahs shoulders, now nuzzling Xayahs neck to try and comfort her. Riku understood her pain. Rakan was his master, and knowing that Xayah was his soulmate meant that she felt exactly what he was feeling, he knew he now had to protect her as Rakan had done.

"Eyes on eyes, what d'you wanna regain?

After all, I wonder how you feel 'bout this madness"

Xayah finishes, looking at Riku, then down at her hands, tears dripping onto them as she clutches them into fists.

She falls to her knees as the stars seem to fade, and soon they vanish, the night sky seeming as empty as herself.

Riku nudges Xayah, trying to get her attention as he notices the absence of stars in the now empty dark sky.

Xayah glances up, confused, and stares at the night sky. Then without warning, a large star appears, glowing a bright green. Xayah stares, stunned as the tears slowly stop falling.

There had only been one other green as captivating as that, there was no mistaking it.

"Rakan.." she whispers, the star seemingly floating towards her, getting brighter the closer it got.

She reaches out to the star as it gets closer, the star shining almost blindingly, but she didn't care. Once the star got close enough, she gently touches it, causing a green light to envelop her.

She closes her eyes as warmth spreads throughout her body, light seeming to fill the emptiness that burdened her just seconds before.

Slowly, she opens her eyes again, looking down at herself, a small gasp emitting from her. She watched as the star slowly floated towards her cracked gem, hovering in front of it for a short second.

Before Xayah could take another breath, the star seems to merge with her gem, forming the broken parts with green. Tears fall from her eyes once again as she feels another presence with her, the feeling of pure love spreading throughout her body.

Rakan had merged his soul with hers, they were now one.

Riku then began to glow, as did Saki, their gems reforming to match Xayahs. The light faded slowly and just as Xayah, their gems were now a mix of blue and green.

A smile forms on Xayahs face as she slowly holds her hands out, letting both Saki and Riku land on them. She slowly pulls them towards her as they cuddle into her chest, content chirps coming from them. Xayah slowly lied down on the cold stone of the buildings roof, a feeling of peace now embracing her. The Corrupted Stars were now at peace.

Xayah slowly drifts off into a peaceful sleep, with only one thought on her mind-

Thank you.

The end. 

»»————-————-««

And with that, this story is complete! I really hope you guys enjoyed, and I know this ending is short but I'm thinking of making a sequel to attach to this one. (Not saying what it'll be able until I get suggestions)

What do you guys think?

Until next time!

~Zuri


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